Humphrey Bogart never says “Play it again, Sam” in “Casablanca.”
Despite being one of the film’s most oft-quoted lines, the words “Play it again, Sam” are never said in Casablanca. It’s been called “probably the most misquoted line in cinema history,” not least because it’s usually attributed to the wrong character. The 1942 film’s protagonist, conflicted Morocco nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), is often imagined as the one saying the line, even though the closest equivalent — “Play it, Sam” — is actually said by Rick’s endangered ex, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). (Rick does later instruct Sam, the piano player in question, to “play it,” however.) For all that, Casablanca, a noir classic set in WWII, still has many other memorable lines, including six on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes list, the most of any film. (That includes “Here’s looking at you, kid” and “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”)
Of course, Casablanca is far from the only film to be misquoted. Dorothy never actually says “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” in The Wizard of Oz, but rather “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Similarly, Darth Vader never says “Luke, I am your father” in The Empire Strikes Back. The actual line to his son is “No, I am your father.”
Legendary French New Wave auteur François Truffaut, best known for 1959’s The 400 Blows and 1962’s Jules and Jim, was offered the chance to remake Casablanca by a Warner Bros. executive in the early 1970s. He turned it down, explaining, “It’s not my favorite Humphrey Bogart film,” and saying that he found the prospect intimidating. A sequel entitled Brazzaville had been planned immediately after the original movie, but it never materialized; ditto a number of other follow-ups (one of which reportedly involved Madonna). However, two television series and several radio and stage versions of the iconic classic have been — more or less successfully — produced.
